Chapter 87

"I think I made a big mistake." I sighed as I put a pin where I had to fix Felix's sleeve.

"You said that twelve times already." He chuckled, staying still as I looked for other places that needed to be fixed on his shirt. His was the only one I had finished for the time being, so I asked him to try it.

"Because I have to convince myself it is a mistake, but that I am still doing it." I mumbled, carefully eyeing for any loose thread. 

"Why is it a mistake when you've made a lot of money?" He asked.

A lot of money was putting it mild. 

100 coins! 

That damn Commissioner had left me with 100 coins just to buy the materials for the dress. The amount made my anxiety spike! To make things worse, some villagers had come asking around who the person with the carriage had been and what they were doing in our house.

The Commissioner and his daughter were trouble, that was for sure. 

Sadly, the troublesome pair paid well. I did not want to say I succumbed to money when that was what actually happened. Although we were not poor and destitute, we did need money to invest in the new plot of land.

We needed money to make the shed, we needed money to buy new vegetables, we needed money to buy a cow… we needed money for everything! 

That was why I could not completely reject the order. Not when I was going to quit my job at Mrs. Priddy's workshop. Not when the business with Mrs. Attile had yet to take off. And, not when money was always good to have in case of emergencies.

"Money is not the problem. The people who will give me the money are." I replied to Felix question. "The more I get involved with them, the faster problems will appear."

"But, why?" He frowned. I gestured at him to take the shirt off to make the modifications I marked.

"Well… Let us hope I am the crazy one thinking negatively, and that nothing happens in the future." I half-smiled at him. He still had a confused expression on his face, but I was not going to expound on the matter. I did not want for the teen to live in unwarranted paranoia.

To my surprise, days went by as normally as they were. 

The brothers had finished the bamboo fence and were working on the lower fence, placing the traps they had agreed on. Ethan kept going to work from mid-morning until late at night. And, I finally finished the brothers' suits for the big day. Which was even closer!

"So? What are we gonna eat that day?" Joseph asked as we were having our lunch on the plot. They had actually built some benches and tables under the birch trees. It was a marvelous sight.

"Do we have to do something special?" Felix countered. His question was valid as we had agreed that the celebration was going to be between us. The usual dishes were fine, right?

"Of course we have to! Even if it's between us, we need new dishes!" Joseph was placing a good argument. Maybe a new dish would mark the beginning of our new life together. The thought excited me, so I seconded his opinion.

"Joseph is right! We need good and new food to celebrate our special day!" I piped up before the third and fourth brother started their daily fight.

"Any ideas?" Lucas seemed to also agree with us.

"What kind of food is served in weddings?" Felix asked Joseph since the latter was the one who proposed the idea.

Joseph paused. "Maybe… we can ask Ethan." For all the confidence he had at the beginning, he immediately deflated at a difficult question.

"That will depend on the type of meal we want. There are Three-Course Meals up to Six-Course Meals, but there are also Eleven-Course Meals. However, I think a Three-Course Meal is best for us. It includes an appetizer, an entree and a dessert." I immediately said, the knowledge I acquired from who knows where coming to light.

The brothers expression was somewhat slack. I might have said things that were a bit difficult for them... "What are those?" Felix inquired.

"Um, well… the appetizer is a small serving that rarely or never includes meat, it's usually something light like… salad or even small pieces of fish." My mind worked fast enough to translate all the complicated information into something simple.

"Then, the entree or the main dish typically has heavy dishes, like the one we're having." The three looked down at the dish of fish balls, pickled vegetables and a boiled egg. "And the dessert is something sweet."

"Like the honeyed lemons!" Felix exclaimed, finally understanding what entailed to have a Three-Course Meal. "Let's think about it now!"

"These fish balls alone can be good appetizers?" Joseph wondered, taking a bite on the last of his fish balls.

I nodded. "They can." We only needed to make them smaller. Since it was to feed three young and hungry men, I made them as big as my palm.

"It's decided then! Then, as the main dish..." Felix hummed, most likely thinking on all the possible dishes he could cook that were good as a main dish

"Rabbit?" Lucas proposed. The thought of killing Mrs. Rabbit or any of her little ones made me sick in the stomach, so I shook my head. "Pheasant?" He tried again.

"Could be." Joseph nodded. "They are bigger than hens. Besides, we need those hens to lay eggs." A dish with braised pheasant did not sound bad, so we agreed on it.

On the matter we were stumped at was the dessert. The only option was the honeyed lemons, yet Felix did not want to eat them all at once. 

"We'll be going to town tomorrow. Maybe I can ask Corey or David about desserts." I proposed. 

With the fence done, the next step was to prepare the patch to start planting. The space was big enough to plant plenty of things, so we wanted to start buying saplings or seeds.

They nodded, agreeing with my idea. It was the only option anyway. 

"I don't know much about desserts, sorry." That was the answer both Corey and David gave us when asked about the sweet treats. Apparently, dessert was not that known in Basin Town. They only knew about sweet treats like candy and pastries.

Pastries could have been a good option, but those were fried. I wanted something simple and easy to make. Well, I guess I had to make an effort and try to dig in my memory for something.

"Let's go, Felix!" I called out to the teen who had been talking in whispers with David. Him and Lucas were the ones who accompanied me to buy the weekly supplies plus the saplings. 

We managed to get seeds for onions, cabbage, beets for vegetables. I had wanted to get the saplings for rice, but I thought they were still too expensive. In exchange, and with the same amount of money for one rice sapling, we got berry and watermelon saplings!

Seeing the tiny saplings sway to the wind as we made our way back filled me with happiness and nervousness for the incoming big day.